Emeritus Professor of Astronomy - University of Canterbury New Zealand

President of International Astronomical Union's Division C for Education, Outreach and Heritage

لطفا به زمان نامتعارف اين سمينار توجه فرماييد

Abstract:Mt John Observatory was founded in 1965 at Lake Tekapo in the center of the S Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by the University of Canterbury and is NZ's only professional research observatory for optical astronomy. It is the world's southernmost observatory at 44 degrees S. The main topics for research have been the study of variable and binary stars, extrasolar planets, microlensing, asteroseismology and astrometry of asteroids and comets. There are four small telescopes at Mt John, the largest with an aperture of 1.8 m. High resolution stellar spectroscopy has been a major activity for the last four decades using echelle spectrographs designed and built at the University. A new high res compact high resolution fibre-fed vacuum echelle called KiwiSpec was recently developed for other observatories and is now manufactured commercially by KiwiStar Optics in NZ. In the last ten years astro-tourism has also been an important activity. About 150,000 tourists visit Mt John every year during the day or for a guided night tour. The night sky is very dark and unpolluted; we have a lighting ordinance to minimize light pollution and an International Dark Sky Reserve covering over 4000 square km centered on Mt John.